RD: Better Than Life
Better Than Life is the second episode of Series II of Red Dwarf, and eighth episode overall. Not to be confused with the Red Dwarf novel Better Than Life. Overview Red Dwarf encounters a Post pod and receives three million years worth of mail, among it the Artificial Reality Total Immersion Video Game "Better Than Life". Summary Now that the ship is heading back to Earth, Red Dwarf catches up with a three million year old mail pod. Amongst the masses of personal mail, junk mail and entertainment items, Rimmer receives the belated news that his father has passed away. Rimmer is devastated, even though he hated his father for his Drill Sargent-esque treatment of his sons. To alleviate his depression regarding the news (not to mention the fact that he has a £8,500 tax bill from "Outland Revenue"), the crew try out a new Total Immersion Video Game where all the players' desires and fantasies can come true, but even Rimmer's mind has its own way of stabbing him in the back. Initially, the trio enjoy an idyllic vacation away from Red Dwarf: Lister and The Cat enjoy the lap of luxury, playing golf and enjoying fine cuisine and expensive wines - even Holly gets in a little R 'n' R time - while Rimmer's fantasy takes a carnal turn with a liaison with Yvonne McGruder (made possible by the fact that he had a physical presence while in the game). Later, he finds himself regaled as an admiral, although an encounter with his father (arranged for by the Cat) leaves him shaken. Ultimately, Rimmer's own neurosis begins to destroy his own and everyone else's fantasies. His new affair with McGruder suddenly turns into a miserable marriage filled with many bratty kids. Lister, The Cat and Holly's enjoyment of the game are soon soiled by Rimmer's deranged mind. Deep down Rimmer truly feels that he is worthless and does not deserve happiness and since the game gives you whatever you want, even what your subconscious mind most desires, the game intends to give him the pain he wants, catching his compatriots along the way. Lister's fantasy of a peaceful day out golfing, the Cat's fantasy of his elaborate love life with Marilyn Monroe and a mermaid (the Salvador Dali version - fish on top and woman on the bottom), and Holly's casual tagging along are all wrecked. Rimmer is threatened by an Outland Revenue Tax Man (after that bill, which has had an extra £10,000 tacked onto it), and ultimately he, Lister, The Cat and even Holly find themselves with their faces smeared with jam, buried up to the neck awaiting an attack by killer ants. This is enough to snap everyone out of the game. As Rimmer whines about his lot in life and how he never gets any breaks, Lister finds one last piece of unopened mail. To everyone shock it reveals that Rimmer had been falsely reported to have failed the astronavigation exam when in fact he passed with honours and thus is now an Navigation Officer. As Rimmer puffs up proudly, the Tax Collector emerges from a cabinet and Lister realizes they're still in the game. Much to Rimmer's continued misfortune, the Collector proceeds to take physical reparations for the unpaid tax, and swings a hammer down onto one of Rimmer's hands... Notes *This is the first episode to delve into the twisted world of the Rimmer family (and the first episode that showed an expansion of his character). *It has no deleted scenes in the Series II DVD. *It is revealed in this episode that Rimmer's full name is Arnold Judas Rimmer. *In Rimmer's letter, his mother refers to him as "Rimmer" and not "Arnold". *Surprisingly, given the subplot of Series I, Lister's part of the fantasy does not appear to include Kristine Kochanski. *The episode fills in some of events on Earth around the time of the Red Dwarf accident. We learn, for example, that a lost page of the Bible indicating it's a work of fiction was recently discovered, that the Friday the 13th movie series was well past its 1,000 installment, and there have been many remakes of Casablanca. Technologically speaking, aside from the advent of Better Than Life we learn that paper letters are still in use, and that video recordings resemble triangle-shaped VHS tapes (although the recording sent to Holly by the Gordon computer appears to be on a compact disc or DVD). *This is the first episode of Red Dwarf to involve location shooting and get the cast away from the confines of spaceship interiors. As such, it is the first episode to feature major elements recorded without a live audience present (these scenes were later played in studio to record audience response). *It's the first of several episodes in which the crew encounters replicas of famous historic figures. *It is later revealed that the man Rimmer thought was his father is not in fact his biological dad; in "The Beginning" Rimmer's social father admits this fact to his son in a video recording he prepared him to play only if he had become a success, feeling the truth would stifle his true abilities. *The subject of mail pods is revisited in the Series III episode "The Last Day" (reusing the original model shot) and again much later in the Series X episode "Dear Dave", with Rimmer repeated almost the exact same mail related taunts as in this episode. *The Cat goes on to learn more about golf - including not to throw the club - as evidenced by his prowess at a tabletop version of the game in Timeslides. Noteworthy Dialogue *'Newsreader:' Good evening. Here is the news on Friday, the 27th of Geldof. Archaeologists near Mount Sinai have discovered what is believed to be a missing page from the Bible. The page is currently being carbon dated in Bonn. If genuine it belongs at the beginning of the Bible and is believed to read "To my darling Candy. All characters portrayed within this book are fictitous and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental." The page has been universally condemned by church leaders. *'Rimmer's Dad:' I just wanted to say...You're a total smeghead! Rimmer: What?! This isn't my fantasy! Cat: No. It's mine! *'Cat:' Yeoooowwww!!! My stomach has been pumped and now I'm hungry. Hey, there you are! Hey man, I'm so hungry, I just have to eat. Lister: Shhhhh. Rimmer's dad's died. Cat: Well, I'd prefer chicken. *'Lister:' You never said much about him. You must have been pretty close. Rimmer: Close? Lister: Sorry, very close. '''Rimmer:' Close? I hated him! I detested his fat, stupid guts, the pop-eyed, balding git! '''Lister:' Why are you so completely blown away about him dying then? '''Rimmer:' Oh, it doesn't mean to say I didn't respect him, didn't look up to him. It was only natural, he was my father. Lister: There's nothing natural about your family, Rimmer. *'Guide:' There you are, sir, a small aquarium, now are you sure you wouldn't like your fish cooked? *'Cat''': No sir, I like my food to MOVE (USING A SMALL FISHING POLE IN A GOLDFISH TANK) I'm gonna eat you little fishie! I'm gonna eat you little fishie! Background Information *Throughout the filming of this episode, the crew had a recurring problem, as Debbie Ash (who played Marilyn Monroe) proved utterly incapable of delivering her line, "Boop-oop-be-doop". *During filming, Craig Charles kept stalling the motorcycle he and Cat ride away from Rimmer on, so Craig is not the person riding the bike as it moves away from the camera. *The crew encounter a Marylin Monroe lookalike again in the Series IV episode "Meltdown", only played by actress Pauline Bailey. Tony Hawks, who played the Better Than Life guide, is also in that episode as Caligula. *A series of smeg ups from this episode shows Craig Charles clumsily, and unsuccessfully, trying to hit a golf ball. According to Robert Llewellyn on one of the Smeg Ups VHS releases (in character and make-up as Kryten), Charles tried to bluff that he knew how to play golf before the scene was shot, when in reality he didn't. Guest Stars * Tony Hawks as Better Than Life Guide * John Abineri as Arnold Rimmer's Father * Judy Hawkins as Yvonne McGruder * Ron Pember as Tax Man * Nigel Carrivick as Captain * Jeremy Austin as Rathbone * Debbie Ash as Marilyn Monroe * Tina Jenkins as Hologram Newsreader * Gordon Salkilld as Gordon References The Better Than Life game is expanded on heavily in the first two Red Dwarf novels: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers and Better Than Life. Category:Episodes Category:Series II Episodes